everyone loves beer

Dispatch from across the country re: the Beer Summit.

Seems like pretty boilerplate stuff, not surprising considering that the press was kept 50 feet away. Anyways, to save you from clicking through to get the interesting stuff, here's the beers they were drinking and their LARGER SOCIAL MEANING.

Obama: Bud Light
Populist, drinkable, boring. It's a shame that our President was drinking water at the beer summit, but somewhat edifying to know that he has more in common with Ilya than anyone thought. I wish he had gone with something more unique, but this seems to be the way the Obama presidency is going--incredible promise and excitement (the concept of a Beer Summit) followed by the harsh realities of Washingtonian realpolitik (Bud Light?!). Let's hope his choice of beer isn't representative of his ability to govern.

Biden: Bucklers
A pretty much nonalcoholic beer produced by Heinekin. Given Biden's penchant for saying crazy shit, it might have been a tactical decision on the part of the White House staff to keep the most loose-tongued member of the Summit as sober as possible. For some reason I picture Biden pouring whisky into his beer before the Summit, but there's no good reason for this other than that I associate Biden with Walter Matthau in the Bad News Bears.

Gates: Sam Adams Light
Harvard man drinking a Boston beer, so I guess this should come as no surprise. Gates is getting a little long in the tooth, so the nod to healthfulness (the "Light" bit) is a given, and at least he's drinking something close to a craft beer.

Crowley: Blue Moon
Aaaaaaaaand the cop manages to put all of them to shame by putting away a real beer. Although it is produced by Coors, and corporate America dressing itself up as Mom-and-Pop operations is so shameful and embarassing and should be stopped (KEEP CORPORATIONS EVIL), this is still close to a good beer. Shame on you, Obama, "Boilermaker" Biden, and Gates for getting punk'd by the dude that Obama said acted stupidly. Joke's on you, Mr. President.